32 Flags Presents: Soccer’s Best and Worst of 2014

WORST: Media attention on Landon Donovan

I grew tired of reading about Landon Donovan. I’m not saying I didn’t do my part in supplying Landon Donovan pieces because I did but if that’s what readers want, that’s what they’re going to get. The thing that really upset me was that many articles portrayed Donovan as some sort of saint and a guy on the level of some of the best players ever. Landon Donovan is a US Soccer legend but he has his demons as well. When I wrote about Donovan, I wanted to give as complete portrayal of the man as I could.

Yeah, Landon Donovan is one of the greatest American soccer players ever and deserves the accolades and achievements he has been given his entire career. He also didn’t fulfill his entire potential by not giving it a longer go in Europe and with his decisions and actions he’s made throughout his career, it can give someone the view that Donovan could be someone who only thought of himself. I don’t know if that’s actually the case, but I just think that many US based soccer media people were too interested in being Landon Donovan’s friend and/or were too busy reminiscing on the past rather than be a reporter and tell the entire story.

 

WORST: The Group of Death

If there is a “Group of Death,” you know the USA was going to be a part of it. The Men’s and Women’s teams both saw themselves into the “Group of Death” at the World Cup. The men got by finishing 2nd over Portugal and Belgium and the women should be able to get by Sweden, Australia and Nigeria. Considering the USWNT likely have to finish 3rd (though it doesn’t guarantee advancement), they should be fine.

 

WORST: England, Spain and Italy

This years World Cup marked a turning point when it came to the world powers of soccer. Who used to be the European powers, England, Spain and Italy all looked very old and highly disappointing. England and Italy got taken out by the unlikely group winner, Costa Rica while Spain could only muster a win against Australia but weren’t even close to getting out of the group. It’s back to the drawing board for these three if they want to relive their past glory.

 

WORST: Brazil National Team

Brazil was a different version of bad. Arguably the pre-World Cup favorite, Brazil played great in the group stage. Granted, it was a rather easy stage, but their only hiccup was a 0-0 draw against Mexico. After going through tougher tests and succeeding against Chile and Colombia, Brazil faced Germany and…

Yeah, Germany wiped Brazil’s clock. Many people blame it on Neymar getting injured but it wasn’t all about that. Neymar didn’t play defense and they looked horrible. Thiago Silva was dumb enough to get a stupid yellow against Colombia and get himself suspended. Also, and this goes back to 1950 as well, the Brazilian fans put way too much pressure on Brazil to win it that something has to give. It’s a shock that Brazil even got to the semis because of that.

 

WORST OF THE WORST: FIFA

I could write a book about how FIFA has been the worst in soccer over the past year. If it’s about their reaction to the Garcia Report, their reaction to human rights violations in Qatar, their reaction to turf at the Women’s World Cup, their propaganda movie and much more, FIFA has shown to be the absolute worst this year even though they had a pretty successful 2014 World Cup. Well, maybe not.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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